A 66-year-old man was gunned down Tuesday afternoon at his apartment at 1044 Captiva Point near Reynolds Road in Lakeland, deputies said. Horace Scott was shot to death and found by the doorway to the apartment about 2:50 p.m., Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. Others in the area heard multiple shots and saw two or three men running west then south from the Secret Cove apartment complex in the Skyview area of East Lakeland.

By ELVIA MALAGONTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | A 66-year-old man was gunned down Tuesday afternoon at his apartment at 1044 Captiva Point near Reynolds Road in Lakeland, deputies said.

Horace Scott was shot to death and found by the doorway to the apartment about 2:50 p.m., Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. Others in the area heard multiple shots and saw two or three men running west then south from the Secret Cove apartment complex in the Skyview area of East Lakeland.

Deputies flooded the area and used police dogs to try to track down the suspects. But as of Tuesday night, no arrests had been made.

Crystal Lake Middle School, which is about two miles west of where the shooting took place, was locked down from 3 to 4 p.m. as a precaution, deputies said.

Deputies and television trucks swarmed the area Tuesday evening. Neighbors, friends and family members of Scott looked on in the rain as detectives knocked on doors at the crowded apartment complex looking for witnesses and crime scene technicians assessed the area.

People gathered at the scene declined to comment.

A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said he saw a gray truck racing down the apartment complex ­Tuesday afternoon. He suspected the truck might have been involved in the shooting.

Judd said detectives were sorting out the details of what led to the shooting and trying to confirm whether Scott lived with anyone else at the apartment.

Judd said investigators also were still trying to find out whether there was anyone else inside the apartment during the shooting.

Judd said it appeared some people may know who some of the suspects are, and he urged the suspects to come forward.

"We are going to find the suspects," Judd said.

Scott said in his Facebook and Google+ profiles that he worked as a paralegal, preparing paperwork for cases such as divorce, bankruptcy, disability benefits and tenant disputes.

Polk County law enforcement agencies have so far investigated more than 30 homicides this year.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's website, Polk County had 25 murders in 2011.

In 2010, there were 30 murders throughout the county.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 863-298-6200 or Crime Stoppers at 800-226-8477(TIPS).

[ Elvia Malagon can be reached at elvia.malagon@theledger.com or 863-802-7550. Her Twitter is @ledger911. ]